Empty Bowls, A Great Idea, A Fun Day

Bowls We Bought to Benefit Empty Bowls

A warmer morning, another rosy fingered dawn, Arizona like clouds against a blue sky, as the sun begins to peak over Bemus/Wells Bay, as it moves towards its most southerly point.  38 degrees, up to the 50's later in the day, mostly sunny till later afternoon, when rain is expected.  A fairly strong southerly wind makes kayaking questionable, so it looks like are usual Sunday walk at the CI.

Empty Bowls in Dunkirk, NY

Empty Bowls Benefit

We had a great day yesterday, Evie's idea, as we went into Dunkirk, NY, to the catholic church for the Empty Bowl benefit for the food pantry's in the area.  As you can see from the pictures, close to a thousand bowls were donated by local potters, stamped with the Empty Bowls insignia, then sold for 10, 20, or 30 dollars.  We were smart enough to get there just before the doors opened, so we had first dibs on the bowls. It was in the parish hall, nestled in a middle class neighborhood of Dunkirk, which reminded me of my hometown of Euclid.  Volunteers had set it up nicely, so you could browse the bowls easily, take them over to the cashier, buy them, get them wrapped if you weren't having soup.  If, like us, you were having soup, you took them over to the kitchen, they were dunked and dried two or three times before being filled with a soup of your choice.  We sat down at the tables, had our soup with bread, some coffee and cookies, then took our dirty bowl to the next station, where it was washed again, dried, then wrapped in paper and placed in a bag.  What a great idea...every time you use the bowl you think of those who are hungry.  And the people involved were all so pleasant, helpful, and efficient that it's going to be an annual event on our calendar, a easy way to give and you get bowls to boot.

Bowls

We then drove home, along RT. 5, which follows the lake, into Dunkirk, since I had never really been on the waterfront.  We were both surprised by the modest homes set right along the beach on the east side of town; usually, the lake front is filled with older mansions but here they were bungalows or ranch homes, with great views of Lake Erie.  Dunkirk is a depressed town, with lots of poverty and drugs and crime, from what I have heard, nevertheless, the modesty of these homes surprised me.  It was a  great way to spend three or four hours, a beautiful day for a drive.

Later, we went into Lakewood, did some shopping at Wegman's, then had dinner at the Rod and Gun Club since we hadn't been there in weeks.  It was crowded as usual, so we sat at the bar, had a beer, then went into the dining room for dinner. Lots of older people, like us I  guess, enjoying a night out.  Evie got the salad bar, with soup, and I had the broiled haddock extravaganza, basically broiled fish with Cajun bread crumbs and lots of butter, rich but tasty.  We have both decided that the food is average at best, that we enjoy being with the locals most of all, though we did not get a chance to meet anyone new.  We might just hit the bar more often, for a drink or two, the dining room less, just to get to know more people.  We did run in to Everett Bensink, who used to own and run Hogan's Hut, now our local justice.  We had not seen him in years so it was fun to say hello.  The Nelsons were not there, the first time that's happened.

As we were leaving, Evie went to pick up our coats and started up a conversation with a guy who was also getting his coat.  As they talked, she found out he has a son who lives in Hudson, works at Goodyear, and knows the Borrmann's, friends of ours who teach at WRA.  He comes up here on weekends, to get away, to his cottage in Celeron; his wife is either to ill to travel or just doesn't like coming to the lake, not sure.  His name was Doug Swift, and he has that mischievous Irish twinkle in his eye, a funny, talkative guy.

7:35

Today, we start thinking about getting ready for our trip to the Albarran's on Wednesday for a few days, and we hope to go into the city to visit my Turkish friend Ates and his wife, who has been in the city for a month a the Hospital for Special Surgery, getting his hip replaced and rehabilitating. We cannot wait to see him since he was so hospitable in Istanbul and, of course, all the Albarrans----it's been awhile.